The Lunar Crystal
by kisa-kara-chan
Summary: When Aerrow and Piper go on a recon mission to retrieve a Lunar Crystal, things don't go as they planned, including a run in with a two particular Cyclonians. How will the recon turn out? Will Aerrow and Piper admit their feelings before it's too late?AxP
1. Chapter 1

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Okay, here's a SUPPOSED TO BE oneshot I made a while ago of Aerrow and Piper. The sad thing is is that when I wrote this, I didn't have much clue about Storm Hawks, and so a few things may be inaccurate, which I've tried to fix. But because of the length, I've decided to make this a Twoshot, like with Derek and Angie from Trauma Center. Well, hope you like it and please R&R!

**Disclaimer: Storm Hawks belongs to Nerd Corps and Ace Fipke.**

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It was a peaceful day in Atmos, the land of a thousand mountaintop kingdoms. Each terra was guarded by a Sky Knight from beasts, rogues, and worst of all, Cyclonians. The most famous of all the Sky Squadrons, the Storm Hawks, were currently on a rainforest terrain, and it was pouring rain. The entire squadron was inside the giant airship, the Condor, waiting for the rain to stop.

The leader of the Storm Hawks, Aerrow, ran a hand through his messy mop of red hair as he attempted to read one of the maps. The specialist of the Storm Hawks, Piper, stood beside him, her dark tangerine eyes scanning the map. Her hand accidentally brushed his, and they both blushed, muttering a "Sorry." They were crushing on each other, though they were a bit dense not to realize it.

Suddenly, Finn, the marksman and "Sharpshooter" on the team, popped up behind them, startling them both.

"Figured it out yet?" he asked.

They shook their heads.

"Not yet," Aerrow replied, "We're still working on it."

The strongman on the Storm Hawks, Junko, looked at them with questionable eyes. "Guys, I know this map is supposed to lead to a Lunar Crystal, but you guys don't have to be so tense about it," he commented.

"Wait a second!" Piper gasped, her eyes widening, "I've figured it out!"

Aerrow placed a hand on her shoulder. "Nice work, Piper," he congratulated, "Let's go."

"Do you need us to come along?" Finn asked eagerly.

"Sorry, Finn. But I think Aerrow and I can handle this one," Piper replied with a smile, "After all, it's only a simple recon mission."

Finn's face dropped, and Aerrow patted him on the back. "Maybe next time, Finn," he said.

Finn scoffed, then muttered under his breath, "Sure."

Both Aerrow and Piper went to the Hangar Bay and climbed onto their rides, and Aerrow whistled for his best friend and co-pilot, a small, cuddly creature he named Radarr.

Radarr quickly leaped into the side seat and they took off, transforming their rides into a biplane and a heliscooter. They rode off into the forest, away from the Condor and into the unknown, Piper leading the way.

About 15 minutes later, a bright flash of lightning appeared in front of them, and they were blinded momentarily. Suddenly, Piper's screams filled the air as her heliscooter crashed into a large rock wall and she began to plummet into a deep, black hole.

Aerrow just narrowly avoided the rock wall but he and Radarr began to fall into the mysterious abyss too.

They all contacted hard ground, and a collision of rocks could be heard. They all groaned before falling unconscious, unknowingly appearing in unknown territory.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry if it seems that this two/three-shot is being rushed. I have lots of other fanfics and stories that I am writing too. I'm also currently working on a Tokyo Mew Mew/ Mew Mew Power fanfic, featuring another OC of mine. lol. Anyways, it seems that this will be a three-shot now, because of the length. lol. Hope you like it. Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Storm Hawks belongs to Nerd Corps and Ace Fipke.**

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Aerrow's bright green eyes slowly opened, scanning his current surroundings. He slowly tried to sit up, wincing at a spark of pain. Rock fragments and dust fell off him as he rose.

"What just happened?" he muttered, looking around, "Piper? Radarr? Where are you?"

Radarr popped up from a mound of dust, brushing dust off of himself.

Aerrow smiled. "You okay, Radarr?" he asked, and received a nod and thumbs up of approval. "Now… where's Piper?"

Suddenly, a hand coming from underneath a pile of rocks caught his eye. The hand was limp… and _very_ familiar.

"No!" he cried, moving towards her, "Piper!"

He threw off rocks as quickly as he could. Then he found her.

Piper lay unconscious, bruised all over her body. She looked terrible. He gathered her into his arms and lay her on his lap.

"A-Aerrow…" the rasp escaped her lips, here eyes half-open.

"Shhh…" he hushed her, "Don't speak."

Her eyes snapped open, fully awake now. "Whoa. What happened?" she asked, her voice crystal clear.

"Well…" he began, scratching his head, "we fell. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I _think_ so," she replied, trying to stand. Her knees buckled under her and Aerrow caught her in his arms.

"Maybe you're _not_ okay," he stated, trying to lighten the mood.

"Maybe not," she agreed.

He lifted her and placed her on his skimmer, which was, miracly, still intact while Piper's heliscooter had been destroyed by several large boulders.

Aerrow sat himself in front of her, and started the engine. Radarr climbed up in the co-pilot's seat next to him. He turned to Piper.

"You comfortable?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Aerrow, I'm fine. Let's just get going. We need to find that crystal before the Cyclonians get here," she replied tersely.

"Okay then," he said, "hold on."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed herself closer to him as they took off, deeper into the mysterious tunnel, with only the Skimmer's front lights lighting the way.

"Piper? Don't you already have a Lunar Crystal? Why do you need another one anyway?" Aerrow asked curiously.

"Well, this ones suppose to be more powerful. And I could just keep an extra, just in case," she replied.

"I see. Well… it's better to get it now before Cyclonis decides to send her Talons after it, and us, later," he remarked.

"That too," she agreed. Then she hesitated for a brief moment before saying, "Aerrow, there's something I've wanted to tell you…" she started, looking up at him now, "Aerrow, I-I- LOOK OUT!"

His head snapped towards the front and he slammed on the brakes, twisting the skimmer to the side to help slow it down. They stopped right in front of a wall. A _solid_ rock wall. In other words, a dead-end.

"Whoa. Good call, Piper," Aerrow stated, "that was a close one."

"Thanks," she replied, "But now we've reached a dead-end."

He looked around. "That's what it seems," he said.

Radarr's chirp made them both look at him, and the furry blue creature was pointing up. They looked towards the furry finger and saw that the trail led upwards.

"Great job, Radarr," Aerrow complimented, turning to Piper, "Hold on tight. This could get rough."

She nodded. The skimmer began to back up, then Aerrow manoeuvred the skimmer up the path. As they kept rising, it got brighter. Very soon, they saw a glowing crystal sitting on a limestone shrine, which sat on a large, flat rock jotting out from the wall.

"The Lunar Crystal!" Piper exclaimed.

"We found it," Aerrow agreed, landing the skimmer.

Piper ran over and picked up the crystal, placing it in her bag. Suddenly, the rock roof above them slid open, revealing the clear night sky. It had stopped raining.

Aerrow gave her a hug. "I'm so glad that we've found it. And we found a way out too," he said.

She blushed. "I'm glad too," she replied. Suddenly, she pulled him around to switch positions with him while crying out his name.

Aerrow had no idea why she had just done that and suddenly felt Piper tense against him, her knees buckling underneath her. He suddenly noticed the arrow buried in her back and he shouted, "Piper!" He let he down gently into his arms and pulled out one of his lightning blade, shooting a pulse of energy into the night sky above him so the rest of the Storm Hawks could find them. Piper's orange eyes had closed.

Suddenly, the Sky Knight drew his attention to who was coming out from the shadows. It was two people; Ravess, and the Dark Ace.

"Dark Ace!" Aerrow hissed, "I should've known. You were sent by Cyclonis to come and steal the Lunar Crystal, _and_ to eliminate me!"

The Dark Ace smiled at him with glaring, amused red eyes. "Why of _course_, Aerrow. Ravess wouldn't have missed too if it wasn't for that navigator of yours," he retorted heartlessly.

"Why you-" Aerrow broke off, setting Piper down on her side, then drawing both lightning blades, activating the two rare blue striker crystals, "You're both going to pay for what you did to Piper."

"That's of course, _if_ you can," Ravess taunted, "Come and try."

"Isn't that sweet? You're protecting your little girlfriend, aren't you?" the Dark Ace teased.

Immediately, Aerrow rushed forward and began to attack Ravess, or at least, _attempted_ to, before the Dark Ace stopped him in his tracks with his own double-edged sword, powered by a Firebolt crystal.

"Let me handle this," the Dark Ace told Ravess, "You finish off the girl, Aerrow's precious navigator."

The red-head back-flipped and landed right in front of Piper, positioning himself defensively. "Come and try." Radarr growled at them, baring his sharp little teeth.

The Dark Ace chuckled, and then directly attacked him, the two of them engaging in a ferocious battle. Radarr went to distract Ravess away from both Piper and Aerrow, so there was no way it would be an unfair battle.

A few minutes later, horns blared and the Condor appeared directly overtop of the tunnel ceiling, covering the view of the sky.

Finn and Junko leaped down next to Aerrow, their weapons activated.

"Check and mate," Finn said, aiming his crossbow.

Both Dark Ace and Ravess growled before fleeing in defeat.

"This isn't over, Storm Hawks!" Dark Ace yelled.

Aerrow withdrew his blades and rushed to Piper's side, where a small pool of blood formed around her torso.

"Piper!" Junko shrieked.

"We've got to get her back on the Condor," Aerrow said, taking Piper into his arms.

"Will she be alright?" Finn implored worriedly.

"I hope so, Finn," was all the Sky Knight could reply.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okayy... here's the moderately short conclusion to this oneshot... er... threeshot. Hope you like it. And I hope it's not a disappointment for those who expected more. Please R&R!**

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Back on the Condor

"She'll be okay," Stork announced, "the wound isn't as deep as it looks."

Aerrow sighed in relief. "Can I see her right now?"

The Merb nodded. "Just don't be too long. She needs her rest, or else it'll be bad news for her. She'll be doomed!"

"Um… okay Stork. I won't take too long, only just a few minutes," Aerrow replied awkwardly, entering the infirmary room.

Piper was lying in bed, a white sheet draped over her. Her eyes were half-open, and she smiled at him as he entered.

"Hey," she croaked weakly.

It pained him to see her in that condition. She was usually so strong-willed and strong. But now, he only saw a weak and frail shell. The injury seemed to age a few of her features. But in Aerrow's eyes, it didn't change how beautiful she was.

"Hey," he replied, "how are you feeling?"

"I've been better," she admitted, "Stork says I can probably get back to work in a week or two."

Aerrow sat down on her bedside. He leaned down and kissed her gently. "I'm sorry. It's my fault you got shot," he whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers, "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered back, "and it's not your fault. It's Ravess'."

"Thank you," he muttered, "I can't believe you got hurt over a crystal."

"_The_ Lunar Crystal," she retorted, crystal instincts kicking in.

He chuckled. "The Lunar Crystal," he corrected himself, kissing herself once more.

Her arms twined around his neck, and he pressed himself closer to her, mindful of her injuries.

They both knew this would be the start of a wonderful relationship. Who knew such a small crystal could bring together two best friends?


End file.
